By the time the sun was just about to rise on the horizon, Rafael had decided that they needed a better plan if they were going to catch the man they were after. He'd been pinched, groped, hit on, rubbed against, and propositioned by too many men-all while he'd desperately tried to avoid knowing what Brann and Syndelle were doing. He wasn't sure that he could endure too many more nights of trolling like this. He wasn't sure how much longer Gian was going to tolerate it either.

That thought brought a small spike of pleasure to Rafe. It had been amusing to see Gian's temper grow shorter as the night faded and his chance to fuck his mate disappeared with it, until finally he was snarling as the sunrise forced him to retreat, leaving Skye and Rico together-knowing that they'd probably fuck the day away without him.

"Had enough of this fun?" Rico asked, moving to stand next to Rafe, his body close enough to give the impression that he might be trying to lure Rafe into a threesome.

"Yeah, more than enough." Rafe put an arm around Rico's shoulders, enjoying Skye's scowl when her mate tensed, still not completely comfortable with another man's touch-especially one who also loved men.

Rico frowned, mumbling "shit" before reaching for the cell phone at his waist, and Rafael guessed it was Augustino when Rico said, "I'll tell him. We're about ready to pack it in here," before hanging up and saying, "Augustino says there's a guy asking around about you at Stingers. He says the guy's sending his creep meter off the scale."

Rafe grinned. "Then it sounds like I need to make an appearance. You and Skye go ahead of me and get into position."

Rico hesitated, then shrugged. "Okay, let's wrap this up. If it's just your run-of-the-mill creep, attracted to your dubious charms, then we'll cut him loose and quit." He shook his head. "¡Carajo! This is like a fucking demotion."

Rafe stifled a laugh. Mated to a cop. He almost felt sorry for Skye.

He gave them a five-minute head start before leaving the bar, deciding to walk rather than retrace his steps and collect the Boxster. It'd be easy enough for Augustino to "pick him up" and then drop him at the car later.

Fuck, he was tired. As he moved into the dawn light, he let his mind seek Syndelle's and Brann's.

Like Gian, Brann had retreated to his daytime resting place. His presence not as solid as it was in the night, though he was still linked to Rafe, Brann's ancient power enabling him to resist the sun's command that he disappear completely. You are on your way home? Brann asked, and Rafe smiled at the satisfaction he could feel in Brann, at the knowledge that the hours he'd spent with their Angelini mate had left Brann sated and relaxed.

One quick stop, then I'm heading to the house.

Good. Syndelle is anxious for your return.

Rafe turned his thoughts to his mate, his wife-something he'd never dreamed of for himself. She was asleep, twisting and turning, worry for him filling her thoughts.

I'll be home soon, he said, trying to soothe her, but she seemed to grow more agitated, coming awake with a gasp just as he became aware of the footsteps behind him, the sudden presence sending his own heart thundering, making him turn and allowing him to see Frankie's face an instant before the pipe he was wielding crashed into Rafe's skull.

For a second there was a horrifying, nauseating sensation of the link being severed, but then it hummed back into place and Syndelle staggered to her feet, grateful that Rafael was still alive-at least for the moment.

She dialed Skye's cell phone, not wanting to rely on the new bond she had with her sister in order to communicate as she directed Skye to the alley, though in her heart, Syndelle knew that it would be too late by the time her sister and the others got there.

Brann's rage swamped her, his fury, a sudden lightning bolt traveling down the line connecting him to Rafe and in the instant it struck, she saw Frankie's death, his hand locked around the coin as he ripped it from Rafael's neck.

Too late. It was too late to take back Brann's death sentence so that Frankie could be questioned. Too late to get to Rafe. Already she could feel him moving further away from her.

* * * * *

"¡Carajo! Another body!" Rico cursed, his anger directed at something he could focus on rather than the fear for Rafael that filled his gut, pouring in along with his mate's anguish and the guilt for having failed to keep Rafe safe.

"Vampire slave," Augustino hissed.

Skye nodded. "I recognize him from a memory of Rafael's that Syndelle shared with me." She looked around to make sure that they were truly alone in the alleyway. "We can't leave the necklace in his hand."

Augustino knelt down to study the corpse. "Do you trust the vampires so much that you're willing to try and remove it? Most likely it's the cause of death here, though I'm sure the coroner will rule it a heart attack."

Skye reached for Frankie's hand. "Brann won't use his power against us."

Rico grabbed her wrist. "I'll do it."

She smiled despite the horror of the situation. It was always a balancing act with both of her mates, they would try to control and protect her if she let them.

Gian's anger swirled along the link she shared with him, but he too found humor in the situation. Let Rico show you how big his balls are since he can no longer take you back to the house and do so. No harm will come to him.

Skye relaxed her arm, a silent signal for Rico to proceed, and within seconds he'd pried the coin from Frankie's fingers and handed it her. "Someone must have made us, they used our search for the killer to trap Rafael."

Augustino nodded. "So it would seem."

* * * * *

Fear and pain poured into Syndelle, countered quickly by the swelling of ancient power, the whispered promise that if she freed it, if she let it return, then it would aid her in the rescue of her mate. Blood called to blood, it reminded her, and Brann's presence now would make the link with Rafael a shout instead of a faint whisper.

The day was here, burning bright, the hours until sunset stretching out like a dark nightmare for all of them-especially Rafael. The killer he'd been seeking had him now, his torture and eventual death aided by vampire enemies-though hard to prove since he'd been hunting this human just as this human had been hunting him.

Perhaps the wolf and the Angelini magic could lead her to Rafe. Perhaps.

Could she really afford to take the chance that they would be enough? Could she really afford to wait?

She was Angelini, the ancient long-present voice whispered, created for a purpose and now she stood in the moment of decision. If she chose to act, there would be no going back, no hiding what she was.

She was The Masada.

The voice had made it so. The dark, silent abyss where the ancient vampire creation magic had been banished had claimed her long ago.

And she had proved her worth. Escaping it, navigating it, containing it. Now did she have the courage to embrace it fully, to step into her destiny?

There was no hesitation in Syndelle as her mind reached for Brann's, as her footsteps led her to his daytime resting place, her fingers undoing the ancient, impenetrable wards, guided by his trust, his knowledge, his belief that she would never harm him as he lay completely helpless.

And then she was inside the most private sanctuary in his home, just as she'd once stood in Sabin's sanctuary, guided there by her mother after the rogue werewolves had attacked.

The myth claimed that a blood sacrifice was needed. And it was so, though the magic had to be willing to flow from one vessel into another.

It had been willing that day she'd stood next to her father's still form. The day she'd bitten down hard, blooding her own lips before bending over to press her mouth to his in a chaste kiss-in a gift that had remained a more closely guarded secret than her existence.

She leaned over and pressed her mouth to Brann's, her blood and magic seeping into him, calling him fully to his body, bringing him into the daylight.

His chest heaved and his heart thundered to life. His eyes opened and his arms wrapped around Syndelle, pulling her down on top of him before rolling to cover her body with his.

Hunger and triumph roared through him, momentarily suppressing the rage and fear at Rafael's abduction, leaving nothing in its wake but the need to couple with Syndelle. He turned her kiss of life into one of love and lust, insatiable desire and physical worship, and she writhed underneath him, the ancient power yielding to the wolf's claim and the Angelini magic, the scent of her arousal swamping Brann's senses, overwhelming him, so that he took her forcefully, plunging in and out of her body like an animal in a frenzied, rough mating. His cock demanding that she lock him to her as he sucked the blood from her lips.

Only after the incredible hunger was sated was Brann able to rise from his resting place, heart racing in his chest, the rush of his own blood a roar in his mind as he dressed, anxious now to move into the day. "Ready to hunt?" he asked, taking Syndelle's hand.

Syndelle's eyes met his.

Sorcerer. Executioner. Vampire.

He'd once been the mate of her nightmares. The bogeyman she'd feared. But now they stood as equals.

"I'm ready."